BT Referee Pundit Mark Halsey is cashing in further on the end of his career as a match official by writing an autobiography.
This soon-to-be-published literary masterpiece has kicked a hornets' nest.
Mr Halsey refers to his close association with Sir Alex Ferguson.
This is illegal.
Halsey has revealed that he and the former Manchester United boss exchanged text messages.
Contact between referees and managers is prohibited on the grounds of professional integrity.
In the tome, Halsey states: "It took time to gain Sir Alex Ferguson's respect but in the end we had a very good relationship."
The former referee continues: "One thing should be made clear about my relationship with Sir Alex. I may have spoken to him a lot and shared texts but he knew when I crossed that white line there were no favours.
"Players and managers would not respect you if you gave decisions based on friendship."
So let's check this claim.
From season 2005/06 to 2012/13 (seven Premier League seasons), Halsey refereed Manchester United on 14 occasions in the EPL.
Manchester United won every single one of those matches.
Let us list them as it is clear that these are, on the whole, tricky matches against the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham, Everton and Villa...
17/04/06 Spurs 1 Man Utd 2
29/11/06 Man Utd 3 Everton 0
16/12/07 Liverpool 0 Man Utd 1
29/03/08 Man Utd 4 Aston Villa 0
18/10/08 Man Utd 4 WBA 0
06/12/08 Man Utd 1 Sunderland 0
31/01/09 Man Utd 1 Everton 0 (Via a penalty)
02/05/09 Middlesbrough 0 Man Utd 2
29/10/11 Everton 0 Man Utd 1
21/12/11 Fulham 0 Man Utd 5
15/04/12 Man Utd 4 Aston Villa 0
23/09/12 Liverpool 1 Man Utd 2 (Via a sending off and a penalty)
01/12/12 Norwich 3 Man Utd 4 (With a penalty included)
10/02/13 Man Utd 2 Everton 0
14 matches, 14 wins, 36 goals for and just 5 against, only 3 matches where the opposition scored (and the Norwich match was an insider gamble probably perpetrated without Ferguson's knowledge) and all 4 key match-changing decisions in favour of the Red Devils.
What on earth would this database look like if Mr Halsey had chosen to "make decisions based on friendship"?
Additionally, Halsey accepted a free 5 star holiday for his family courtesy of Jose Mourinho...
... Chelsea won 10 out of 12 EPL games that Halsey refereed during Mourinho's first spell at Stamford Bridge. The other two were draws. So 24 wins 2 draws 0 defeats all in.
Newer readers might wish to glance at http://footballisfixed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/manchester-united-premier-league.html
The powers that be in English football are livid at this exposure of one of the standard templates in the Premier League.
The EPL have mounted a "fierce opposition" to the publication of the book entitled Added Time claiming that Halsey did not have the authority to publish and we all know that everybody has to respect Richard Scudamore's authority.
The Premier League offer all retiring referees a £50,000 severance payment which, in effect, amounts to a gagging order for the rest of the referee's life.
Hush money!
Thank goodness the EPL feels like it has nothing to hide!
And Halsey's revelations have since led refereeing body Professional Game and Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) to issue a stark warning to its members regarding its professional code.
A spokesman for PGMOL told The Mirror: "At the beginning of the season all our referees were reminded of the importance of adhering to these important PGMOL protocols.
"This covers a number of issues, including making direct contact with managers and players, which for integrity reasons is prohibited. Any new publicity will only heighten awareness of adhering to these important PGMOL guidelines."
Yeah, right...
We could also list referees from Britain and across Europe who are similarly problematical.
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